Highguard's rating on Steam is mostly positive based on reviews from actual players

Highguard has been panned quite a bit over the past few days, and while the game has its high-profile defenders like Geoff Keighley and Baldur's Gate 3 lead Swen Vincke, the vast majority of talk surrounding the game is incredibly negative. You only have to look at the game's many negative reviews on various platforms to see that it is currently fashionable to bash Highguard.

But lurking beneath the surface of all those negative reviews is actually a small ray of hope for Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment, and all you have to do to actually see it is filter the game's Steam reviews by playtime. Well, it seems that the people who have actually played Highguard for a decent amount of time actually have much kinder words to say.

Highguard's rating on Steam is mostly positive based on reviews from actual players

Slade watches you from his back as fireballs fall from the sky in Highguard.

First spotted by GamesRadar, if you filter Highguard's Steam reviews by at least three hours of playtime, you'll see the game jump from a Mostly Negative rating to a Mostly Positive one, based on around 5,000 reviews. In these reviews, you'll see people claiming that “people are too quick to judge” and that “the game is fun but could use some improvements.” The criticism is much less hostile and much more constructive from people who have actually played for more than a few hours.

Highguard character with trendy down bar

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Highguard's failure shouldn't matter that much

Highguard has become a talking point for game artists, instead of just a generic shooter that isn't as good as Apex Legends.

Of course, many of the game's negative reviews are based on the game's initial performance and login issues, so many of the reviews won't exactly have hours and hours of playtime when people can't actually log in. However, it is a good sign that there are people who are a little softer in the game, amidst all the bile and vitriol.

Hopefully Highguard will be able to settle down a bit and adapt to a core audience. Although nowhere to be seen in Steam's charts, a multiplayer game from an indie studio that manages around 10,000 players tops out on Steam quite well. Sure, they're not Marvel Rivals or Arc Raiders numbers, but it's a base to build and hopefully improve on.